Where, o where to begin...
As pianists we are deeply indebted to Liszt for so many things. He was the first to play from memory to play music that he didn't compose. He pretty invented the modern recital and master class. He was a fine composer, amazing pianist and I would even go so far as to say dramatist. He was an expert at conjuring emotions and I think that is one of the reasons people liked him, that, and his giant personality.
I will defend Liszt's music to the death. I happen to greatly like Liszt's music, and while there is a great deal of glitz in his music, that's not what draws me in, though it is amazing what kinds of sounds he can get from the piano. What fascinates me is him as a person and how his compositions directly affect what is going on in his life. He skillfully conjures up images, idylls, emotions, and even religion with stunning effect. Virtuosic runs add excitement, are often very musical, fit well under my fingers, and aren't just hard for the sake of being hard.
His technique (what little presented) was a bit surprising. When I think Liszt, I definitely think whole body technique with the proper balance of strength and suppleness. So when they mentioned that he didn't really play from his arms, I didn't quite buy it and can't imagine not using the whole arm. As far as head position (leaned slightly back) I think this was a good idea, for the sake of listening. I know when I'm most involved in pieces I'm leaned slightly back to hear how sound resonates in the hall (though mostly unconsciously). Those exercises on diminished chords were quite the workout and would be most excellent for stretching fingers.
One last thing, it was nice to read that Liszt was actually human. That he could have a bad day and not give a very good lesson for the student. Also, that he got sick of pieces and forbid people to play them. I love that!
And finally *only if you want to and you don't need to watch the whole thing but it's good for a few laughs*, for either a brilliant or terrible portrayal of Liszt as a rockstar, check out the following clip from Lisztomania (either a brilliant or terrible movie):
I was also interested in reading that Liszt admittedly had good and bad days and that he taught in class settings so that everyone could benefit from the good days. I guess that means everyone would get the bad, too, unless he just didn't teach on those days.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the video posting. It was interesting...
Haha, thanks for the video! It's really mind opening lol, I like how it depicts the concert atmosphere very much.
ReplyDelete'Franz Liszt! Franz Liszt! Franz Liszt! ..'!!
I think it's sad that he would decide on what to work on with students in his classes based on how he was feeling at the moment! A lot of students probably worked hard on great music but didn't get Liszt's help because of that...
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT.
ReplyDelete